This invention relates to filling bags with fill material, such as sand. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mobile apparatus which automatically fills bags with sand or other fill material and closes the bags for use.
Heavy rains or coastal storms can lead to flooding damage. The damage caused by these storms can be greatly reduced by creating sandbag barrier walls to confine or re-direct the water to non-residential drainage areas. These walls must be built quickly and require a large number of sandbags.
Sandbags are typically filled with fill material, such as sand. The conventional practice is to have one person hold the bag open while another person uses a shovel to fill the bag. Once full, the bag must be tied to prevent the fill material from escaping the bag. This process can be dangerous to the person holding the bag. Sand can be thrown into the person""s eyes. The blade of the shovel may also injuriously contact the person""s hands. This process is also time consuming and requires a large number of people to fill the sandbags and create the barrier wall.
Sand hoppers have been created to aid in the process. These hoppers are usually loaded on a truck or a trailer and filled with sand or other fill material. The hopper agitates the sand and discharges the sand out of a chute. A bag is held under the chute by one person and then passed to another for tying when full. While creating sandbags more quickly than filling sandbags manually, this process also has the disadvantage of having several people involved in the process of filling and tying sandbags. The fill material must also typically be placed in the hopper or bed of the vehicle to be dispensed. The hoppers are also typically large and cumbersome and require vehicles to transport them from site to site.
Accordingly, there is a need for an automatic sandbagging apparatus which is self-contained and capable of producing filled and tied sandbags. Such an apparatus should be compact, mobile and easy to operate by only one or two people. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.
The present invention resides is a mobile sand bagging machine which automatically prepares sandbags. The machine includes a source of sandbags. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the source of sandbags comprises a plurality of sandbags rolled into a spool.
A guide track is positioned adjacent the source of sandbags. Means are provided for selectively removing a sandbag from the source of sandbags and advancing the sandbag along the guide track. Such means typically comprises a hook associated with the guide track and movable along the guide track and capable of removing the sandbag from the source of sandbags. The hook is typically attached to a chain associated with the motor for selectively advancing the chain along the guide track. The machine typically includes a timing mechanism for selectively advancing the hook and sandbag along the guide track.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, the sandbag includes a string removably attached to a lower surface thereof and which is engageable with the hook.
A fill chute is positioned relative to the guide track to enable the sandbag to be at least partially filled with external fill material. An expansion mechanism is associated with the chute and capable of opening an end of the sandbag for receipt of the fill material.
A sandbag closing mechanism is positioned adjacent to the chute for closing the open end of the sandbag. Typically, each sandbag includes a fastener attached thereto. The closing mechanism, in such instance, comprises a clamping mechanism configured to close the fastener about the open end of the sandbag.
In use, a sandbag is removed from the source of sandbags by engaging the hook to remove the sandbag. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the hook engages the string which is attached to the lower surface of the sandbag to remove the sandbag. The sandbag is then advanced along the guide track of the sandbagging machine. An end of the sandbag is opened using the expansion mechanism. Fill material is placed through the chute to at least partially fill the sandbag with fill material. The open end of the sandbag is then closed. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the closing step includes the step of clamping the fastener attached to the sandbag.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.